Auditors Recommend JCPS Reorganize Central Management

An outside auditing agency recommends JCPS reorganize its central management to be more efficient.

Phi Delta Kappa International has handed the district the first of several recommendations since visiting JCPS last month. The audit says not all job descriptions ensure student success and not all jobs have adequate supervision.

“Well I can’t answer how long it’s been going on but it came to my attention at the start of the year that this was an issue,” said JCPS board chairman Steve Imhoff.

That is partly why JCPS ordered the audit, he said.

The audit agency recommends more structure to the district’s management and supervising roles. It says in some instances employees report to several supervisors, while others report to none. Imhoff said he expects the audit to be critical.

“It talks about making sure every job description is complete, that everybody knows what their job is. It’s not saying fire 100 people or anything and replace them with new people. It’s recommending that we know that clearly each person in their position knows what their job is and knows who they supervise and each other employee knows who their supervisor is,” said Imhoff.

The recommendation asks the district to set up certain policies and procedures for determining responsibilities in a more efficient manner. It creates four Chief Officers for its central management, and asks all communication to funnel to these appointed positions. The four officers include: Chief Academic Officer, Chief Financial Officer, Chief Operations Officer, and the Chief Diversity, Community Relations and Communications Officer.

Auditors ask that JCPS take immediate action on appointing these leadership positions, however the recommendation does come as a draft. A full report is expected to be presented to the board in January.

“I feel confident that our board is going to be receptive to these recommendations,” said Imhoff.

Organizing the audit has been one of the most important decisions the district’s made to improve the success of students, he said.